


Do You Like Your Gift?

by ForTheLoveOfHera



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Bad Flirting, First Kiss, Flirting, Gay Panic, Gift Giving, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:14:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26308402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForTheLoveOfHera/pseuds/ForTheLoveOfHera
Summary: Perseus doesn't understand Hermes' intentions. Commission.
Relationships: Hermes/Perseus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Perseus/Andromeda (mentioned)
Kudos: 20





	Do You Like Your Gift?

The gods were ordinarily rather difficult to get ahold of. It wasn’t that they weren’t listening, but rather more their desire to not engage, especially with their own children. It didn’t matter how many rituals Perseus did--his father remained silent.

There was, however, a god who would always respond to him. He wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was his nature as a messenger, or possibly something more than that. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, so Perseus decided not to question it. He knew better than to question the gods, even cheerful, youthful, friendly gods like Hermes.

He got rather used to Hermes’ company quickly. After the Medusa incident, Hermes had a knack for showing up when he wasn’t invited. He stopped by to say hello whenever Perseus was relaxing (and, more embarrassingly, when he was bathing). Perseus didn’t mind the company (most of the time), but he felt rather...odd around him. Tingly, perhaps. Or simply nervous.

Sometimes, when Hermes visited, he left gifts, and that made Perseus even more uneasy and sweaty. He knew he had the favor of Hermes and they were as close to friends as a demigod and a god could be, but knowing that he was holding something that Hermes himself had picked out and held himself made him flush.

The first gift was benign enough: a bag of nuts left on his doorstep. They were delicious, and he elected to roast them and use them in his meals.

“Did you like your gift?” Hermes asked once, appearing unannounced in his house.

Perseus managed a yes, because they were quite tasty, really. But then Hermes winked, and that confused him even more (and made his heart race).

Then came the roosters. 

First, there was only one, and it roamed the grounds around Perseus’ home, being noisy. Perseus knew even less of what to do with it. He wasn’t sure if he should slaughter it for food--perhaps Hermes thought he was growing too thin and wanted him to eat?--so he kept it as a pet.

Soon, though, there were two, then three. They guarded the grounds as though they were dogs, which Perseus didn’t think was normal rooster behavior, but since these were gifts from Hermes, they wouldn’t be normal roosters anyway.

That was when things became even stranger.

One morning, when Perseus headed out to go fishing, there was a dead hare on the front steps. His first reaction was to assume another animal had killed it, but it didn’t make sense for an animal to kill a hare and not eat it. There was no blood, either, or sign of struggle. 

It was then he saw Hermes leaning against the side of his house. “Do you like your gift?” He was grinning, which wasn’t unusual for Hermes, as he usually had much to smile about, but he seemed...especially chipper today.

“Um,” was all Perseus managed to say. He lifted the hare by the ears. “Why?”

Hermes’ eyes sparkled. “Why do you think?”

Perseus was confused, to say the very least. His heart raced up to his cheeks and through his ears, as though he were underwater. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to figure out what to say. Eventually, he settled on, “Are you worried I don’t eat enough? This island provides all I need. You know I like a simple life.”

Hermes actually  _ giggled _ , not unlike a young boy. Then his laugh grew louder until he slinked down the side of the house, holding his sides.

“What’s so funny?” Perseus asked. He’d never felt so lost before. He knew he was missing some sort of joke--Hermes was no stranger to jokes--but he didn’t see what was funny about a dead animal on his porch.

“Do..” Hermes paused to wheeze. “Do you not know what these things mean?”

“Dead hares?” Perseus asked, lifting it a bit higher. “Food, I guess.”

Hermes practically howled with laughter. It took awhile for his hysterical laughter to die down. Holding his sides, he said, “Perse, I’ve been  _ flirting with you _ !”

Perseus was stunned, to say the least. He blinked a few times. He looked from the hare to Hermes a few times. “F-flirting?” he finally managed.

“Yes.” Hermes stepped closer, grin on his face. “Flirting. I figured you’d notice with the nuts, but you just ate them...so I tried a cock…” He gestured toward the yard. “But you  _ still _ didn’t get it!”

He was even closer now. If Perseus stepped forward, their hips would touch, and the idea made his cheeks flush even more, like a virgin maiden. 

“Um,” Perseus said, mostly because he felt like he needed to make some sort of noise in response.

Hermes rubbed the back of his own neck, stepping back a little. “Of course, I understand if you’re not interested. You have Andromeda--”

“It’s not that!” Perseus’ voice came out rather quickly. “I just..” His mind whirred with all the possible ways to respond. What  _ did  _ he think, anyway? He felt dizzy and too warm, like he needed to sit down. He knew he was a demigod and that mortals regarded him with pride and kindness, but never in his whole life did he consider a god--one of the Olympians, no less!--being interested in him romantically. 

“So.” Hermes stepped forward again, seeming less concerned than he was earlier. “Does that mean you  _ are _ interested?”

Perseus parted his lips. Hermes  _ was _ attractive--he was a god, after all. But he was so beautiful it was almost unreal, an eternal, curly-haired youth with a bold grin. Of course his heart raced whenever he was near, but he thought that was just how one felt in the presence of a greater being. 

The answer Perseus gave surprised himself. “Yes.”

Hermes brought his hand over to Perseus’ cheek, grazing his jawline before pulling his face toward his into a gentle kiss.

Perseus had never kissed a boy before. He’d kissed his wife, of course, but this was nothing like this. It wasn’t necessarily better nor worse, but a different kind of wonderful, where he felt as though every fiber of his being were lit on fire. Hermes’ lips were impossibly soft and warm, which only made sense, being that he was a god. There were slight prickles on his face where his facial hair was growing back, but it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation--if anything, it added to it.

When Hermes broke free, he grinned even wider. He petted down Perseus’ chest with one hand, edging lower and lower until he met the swell between his legs.

“I’m guessing you liked your gifts, eh?”

Perseus bit his lip and shivered as he was caressed by Hermes. “I like  _ you _ .”

Hermes giggled. “Want an even better gift then?”

A vigorous nod was all Perseus needed to give, and Hermes knelt before the demigod, lifting the light fabric and bringing his lips to the wonders beyond.


End file.
